How do you sharpen your ripping chain?

[duffontap]

Ok, when I first got interested in chainsaw milling, I thought, 'I'll get 5 loops of chain and a $150 grinder and I'll never need to drop my chains off at the saw shop again.' Well, I realized after a couple weeks of thinking that waiting for the money to buy a powered bench-mounted grinder and 5 loops of chain ($100) would mean never being able to afford to start. So, I went the opposite direction and bought 1 loop of chain telling myself to 'suck it up and hand file it.'

I'm careful with what I cut so I'm not rocking my chain or milling through nails and chipping up the teeth. The first 4-5 times my chain started acting dull, I carefully made about 3-5 passes with a file on each tooth and it would cut like butter again. I would say, 'why would anyone bother to buy an expensive grinder?' Well, the last two mornings I milled, I was milling some pretty dirty logs and even though my teeth still looked undamaged, I wasn't getting very good results by filing the chain.

After 8 hand-sharpenings, I took the chain to the saw shop for a professional grind. They did not inspire any of my confidence when the guy at the counter said, 'hey Bubba, can we sharpen ripping chain?' Bubba further destroyed my faith in them by looking at the chain and saying, 'looks like a normal grind to me.' I explained to him 5 times in a row with increasing simplicity and conviction that IT WAS different and I wouldn't be pleased if he put anything other than the factory grind on it. He explained to me 6 times that he couldn't see the difference between my chain and a normal cross-cut chain. I'm paying them $8 to do what they don't know how to do.

All that said, I need a home sharpening system that can bring my chains back to perfect--perfect--after a few touch-up filings on the job. I don't have a huge budget here so I was thinking about the powered version of the Granberg file-n-joint or the cheapest bench-mounted grinder I can get from Bailey's ($99).

I would be very interested in any advice you guys have to offer. What works?

J. D.

 

[Nikko]

I've just bought the grinder from Northern tool (same one Bailey's has but it's purple) and have spent a little time with it. But my experiments are FAR from done.

However - I've been sharpening my milling chain with the tilt set to 60°, the vise rotated to 15° and tilted to 10°. I ran about 45 lineal feet of cut in a walnut that averaged 16" in diameter and I never had to alter my feed rate, which tells me the chain performed consistently. That, coupled with the fact that I was pleased with the feed rate (about an inch and half per second) and with the quality of the cut, tells me the grind was good. so I'll try the same one again next time.

Nikko

 

[duffontap]

I've just bought the grinder from Northern tool (same one Bailey's has but it's purple) and have spent a little time with it. But my experiments are FAR from done.

However - I've been sharpening my milling chain with the tilt set to 60°, the vise rotated to 15° and tilted to 10°. I ran about 45 lineal feet of cut in a walnut that averaged 16" in diameter and I never had to alter my feed rate, which tells me the chain performed consistently. That, coupled with the fact that I was pleased with the feed rate (about an inch and half per second) and with the quality of the cut, tells me the grind was good. so I'll try the same one again next time.

Nikko

Sounds pretty good to me. Did you get this one:

 

[MotorSeven]

I use a jig & file by hand. I bought a HF grinder over a year ago in case i hit metal & really screw a chain up, but i haven't even taken it out of the box.
RD

 

[wdchuck]

I file by hand, with a basic plate guide, and that seems to do just fine for me, however, I have nothing better to compare it to, nor anyone to tell me if I'm doing well or poorly, on the ripping chain. I use the same basic method regardless of the type of chain, just seems to be different angles for different applications.

 

[shokidq]

never used ripping chain but i always find when a chain isn't cutting an the teeth look fine take down the rakers

 

[Nikko]

Sounds pretty good to me. Did you get this one:

yup, that's the one. I can hand file, but I'm finding my chains actually get sharpened now

 

[duffontap]

never used ripping chain but i always find when a chain isn't cutting an the teeth look fine take down the rakers

I never touched the rakers. I have a feeling you're comment is right on regarding my diminishing returns with hand-filing. Do you use a gauge or just file 'x' number of passes on each raker?

J. D.

 

[shokidq]

I never touched the rakers. I have a feeling you're comment is right on regarding my diminishing returns with hand-filing. Do you use a gauge or just file 'x' number of passes on each raker?

J. D.

I go 1 or 2 light strokes 3 is usually too much the guage stays in the bag.

 

[glennschumann]

How I sharpen with a file

Hi Duff,
I too wondered about the reality of having a dealer sharpen my chains all the time, but I'd never sharpened one, and when I started, all the angles, pitches and gauges of chain made as much sense to me as the proverbial "feminine logic". Just proverbially... most women are smarter (and stronger) than me.
After I had my own dealer's "Bubba" do a number on my ripping chain (the right and left cutters came back as noticably different lengths, different angles, and MUCH shorter than when I took it in), I decided to try my hand at sharpening. (See the photo)
All I figured I needed was more tools.
Well, the really nice jigs seemed to be pretty pricey, so thinking with masculine logic I said "I can build one". This time, it actually worked pretty well.
I did get the file holder from the dealer, but the rest was my own creation. It is just a block of wood mimicing a saw's bar, with angle guides on it and a slot is deep enough, that clamped in a vice, it holds the chain securely. One could make it out of a couple pieces of wood with a spacer, (the slot is almost as deep as the wood block - about 1/2" of wood is left) but the key is to have the top level, and the right gap so the chain slides easily when the vice is loosened, but holds the chain tightly when it it clamped. I drew angles across the top at 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, and 10 degrees. This allows me to sharpen cross cut or ripping chain, and I've got a few cross cut chains that I'm bringing back to 10 degrees 5 degrees at a time.

Place the guide in a bench vise, and leave the vise loose enough to let the chain slide through the slot. Mark a cutter as the first cutter with a marker, and position the cutter to be sharpened in a location so that when you put the file guide on it, you can see the correct angle marking just to the side of it. (See photo) This then guides your stroke, and it is quite easy to keep a consistent angle. Once you get a few cutters done, and you feel comfortable, keep your feet in the same position on the floor, and it all falls into place naturally. You will have to flip the chain around to sharpen the other side, but no big deal. I've had good luck with this set up. Just remember to file your rakers as needed. My jig is about a foot long, and the bottom corners are rounded so the chain slides in easily.
I take 5 to 14 strokes depending on how bad the chain is (I've sharpened friends chains... that is where I get the 14). The last stroke or two, I use just a little pressure to give a smoother surface, and maybe it also breaks the burr off the edge. (Search other posts for arguments about that).
At this point, I've been sharpening with the file level with the floor, not at 10 degrees as suggested by some chain mfrs. I also am going to make a larger handle for the file, and some sort of place for my thumb on the other end... that little knob is pretty hard on my soft fingers (I work in an office all day).
I find it helps if you have a bright light near by so that you can see the edge of the cutter to see if it is truly sharp, or if the cutting edge is still rounded over.
Hope that helps at least a little... Ive gathered lots of helpful information here, and I'm just trying to return the favor.

 

[peter nap]

I bought the Northern too, but haven't tried it yet. Everything I do lately seems to have both a learning curve and a tinker and tweak period.

 

[user 19670]

glennschumann

That is a most interesting jig you made yourself. You earned yourself a rep for that one

 

[DRB]

Glen

I like your chain holder tool. I might have to try something like that. As for now I always have to put my used chains back onto my saw so that I can sharpen them by hand in a vice in the shop. I can sharpen them in the field if I need to but this is always awkward. I use a little metal plate called a file-o-plate to check the angles and raker depths.

 

[duffontap]

Glenn,

Thanks for the help! The thing I like most about your jig is that you can sharpen chains off the bar with it. That is quite clever. I will try to make a copy in the next couple days.

Questions:
Does your holder control the depth of the file? I.e., does it slide along the top of the tooth to keep the file from cutting straight down?

Do you file the rakers on every sharpening?

Thanks again, that is very helpful.

J. D.

 

[glennschumann]

Duff,

Glad you found this interesting. The file holder does control the depth of the file nicely. Stihl and Oregon make similar tools. Just make sure you get the right size for your chain. It is dependent on the pitch... 3/8 - 0.325 - 0.404. Stihl recommends 13/64" for 3/8" pitch, Oregon recommends 7/32" I think. Yes, the file holder runs across the top of the cutter on the chain.

I do not file the rakers every time I sharpen. I have a depth jig (Stihl makes one) that tells me if I need to file them down. When I do, I do take a few passes with a flat file on each raker, and I do round the leading edge so that it slides easier in the cut. I tend to err a bit on the side of leaving them a bit long because I only have an 066, and a 42" bar. The shorter the raker, the more bite, and it is easier it is to have the chain catch, rather than cut.

By the way, the chain holder has those side wings on it so that it rests on top of the vise jaws, just above the vise screw. If you don't add those wings, the wooden jig will not be steady in the vise.

I admit that chain sharpening is not what I would choose as a career, and like many tasks, I don't like doing it if it is difficult. This jig makes it as easy as I think it could get. My 42" loops take a bit of time, yes, but it is actually kind of therapeutic after a day at the office. I don't want to admit that I actually like sharpening chains, but this is as close as it gets.

 

[oldsaw]

If your filing is getting poorer results, you need to check two things. The first has been mentioned, check the raker depth. My old Husky dealer had a thin metal plate that hooked over the cutter and set the level for the raker. Just hit it with a flat file and move on. I liked it so much, I bought a couple more before they went out of business.

The second thing is to make sure that you aren't forcing the file down into the gullet and not filing the cutting edge. You need to keep upward pressure on the file so you keep an edge on the cutter, not leave a rounded off edge and a bigger gullet.

Mark

 

[Rodney Sinclair]

This is what I use.It works quite well.

Rodney

 

[BobL]

My chain vice is a vice for sharpening (as well as jointing and cutting) the teeth on hand saws but it works well for chains as well. The vice is held vertical by a large woodworking vice on my woodworking bench. With such a long bed I only have to rotate my chain 3 times on a the chain that fits my 42" bar. The other thing is that the extra height brings sharpening up to a comfortable height - also I have crap eyesight so I wear a head mounted magnifier to sharpen

The tap handles set into the bottom of the vice provide additional leverage/force on the top clamp than is possible with the middle thru bolts.

 

[oldsaw]

Dang, Bob, that's awful pretty for a chain vise. Funny what we millers will use for our "stuff". Can't really justify buying something, so we use what's at hand.

Nice work.

Mark

 

[duffontap]

If your filing is getting poorer results, you need to check two things. The first has been mentioned, check the raker depth. My old Husky dealer had a thin metal plate that hooked over the cutter and set the level for the raker. Just hit it with a flat file and move on. I liked it so much, I bought a couple more before they went out of business.

The second thing is to make sure that you aren't forcing the file down into the gullet and not filing the cutting edge. You need to keep upward pressure on the file so you keep an edge on the cutter, not leave a rounded off edge and a bigger gullet.

Mark

Hey Mark, I know I don't keep enough upward pressure. I think I may be experiencing both of these problems. Up until two days ago, I was beside myself with how well my free-hand-sharpened chains were performing. These two problems would explain why my performance tapered off after 4-5 sharpenings.

I assume the 'universal depth gauge jig' from Baileys is what I need?

J. D. Duff